14 Essential Hip Hop Movies

In active existence for just five years and with only a handful of albums and EPs to their name, seminal hip hop group N.W.A. may be one of the only acts whose biopic took longer to come about than the story it ostensibly tells. But after a development period of many years, a string of writers and directors attached and more than one false start, F. Gary Gray‘s “Straight Outta Compton” rolls into theaters (our review is here) this weekend, telling the story of the 5-man crew that seismically redefined the hip hop landscape, controversially ushered in the era of the gangsta rap, and launched stellar multi-hyphenate solo careers.

Somewhat like the far-reaching influence of the not terribly prolific group, hip hop encompasses an ethos that extends way beyond the music at its core. As a distinct culture that continues to leave a profound mark on fashion, filmmaking, urban art, and the media and entertainment industries at large, hip hop has exploded out from its marginalized origins and is now an inescapable pop cultural cornerstone. In many ways, mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, with its inherent conservatism and reluctance to showcase stories detailing the black experience, has been slower than many other industries to embrace it, but there have been some notable exceptions. If you want to catch up on your hip hop movie history prior to checking out “Straight Outta Compton” this Friday, here are 14 great hip hop films —some old, some new, some good, some not so good, but all taking hip hop culture as their central focus.

“8 Mile” (2002)
It seemed like little more than a self-aggrandizing vanity project on paper, but “8 Mile” become a minor classic in the genre the moment it hit theaters. It’s a familiar underdog story structured perfectly around the rise of Jimmy ‘B-Rabbit’ Smith, a barely fictionalized Eminem, which already at the time had been intensely explored through his first two massive records, The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. His upbringing and struggles in Detroit, his frayed relationships with his mother and his girlfriend —each were subjects brought to life by “L.A. Confidential” director Curtis Hanson and writer Scott Silver, with suitably bleak cinematography by Inarritu collaborator Rodrigo Prieto. And since they were subjects explored relentlessly by Eminem in his lyrics, when we first see his character choking on his words during a rap battle in the film’s opening scene, and he’s played by Eminem himself, we’re already fully up to speed. Those battles —the signature of the film— were always going to be electric, but the fact that Eminem went up for real against co-stars and extras while Hanson just kept rolling only adds to the energy. But it was in the more dramatic scenes, whether opposite Kim Basinger or an excellent Brittany Murphy, that Eminem surprised with his nuanced performance that cut through any artifice built up in the story. While the rapper hasn’t acted much since (though has cameo’d as himself a couple of times), he was the first choice for Antoine Fuqua’s “Southpaw” which only went to Jake Gyllenhaal after he dropped out, and it’s interesting to wonder what he might do with a lead that is not so overtly autobiographical. Still, it’s the confluence of the real person, the actor and the personality represented through music, as well as the considerable behind the camera talent, that means “8 Mile” will always be a superior entry in the hip hop movie canon.

“Beat Street” (1984)
Even in the relatively early days of hip-hop, Hollywood was eager to cash in on the phenomenon: the studios might not have understood it, but they could see that there was money to be made as such. The summer of 1984 might have been the zenith of that, with two rap-themed movies, “Breakin’” and “Beat Street,” competing at the box office. “Beat Street” (produced by noted rapper, erm, Harry Belafonte) was undoubtedly the better of the two, but that’s not saying a huge amount —the amateurish, Cannon-produced “Breakin’” is awful. The slightly later picture, however, focuses on two brothers, aspiring MC Kenny (Guy Davis) and breakdancer Lee (Robert Taylor). Both have dreams of making it big and are aided by Tracy (a debuting Rae Dawn Chong), a college student and composer from the right side of the tracks. The film, written by among others future “The Fugitive” director Andrew Davis and directed by TV veteran Stan Lathan, has about as much in common with actual-1984 New York as “The Warriors” did, and is plotless and episodic (and when it does try to insert some stakes, as with the brothers’ graffiti artist pal’s deadly feud with a rival, becomes kind of laughable), and features some decidedly inconsistent acting. But when it works, it really works, as during the musical performance from the likes of Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, or in the breakdancing sequences (featured in our Favorite Dance-Offs piece). In these moments, “Beat Street” sings, with Lathan introducing a vibrancy and color that’s almost reminiscent of old-school Hollywood musicals. It might sometimes come across like Steve Buscemi wearing a backwards baseball cap and holding a skateboard, but its cultural impact in terms of introducing hip hop to a wider audience (especially around the world) was enormous. And the soundtrack’s just great.